Punch to link up with Harry Ramsden’s

Punch Taverns has said it plans a tie-up with fish and chip restaurant Harry Ramsden’s as the debt-laden pub group bids to boost profits.

The Burton upon Trent firm said it also plans to launch coffee shops in its outlets and expand its Champs sports bars, to make better use of underused space at its 3,588 pubs.

The move comes after a review by chief executive Duncan Garrood, who joined the group in June from retail franchise operation MH Alshaya, where he was the president of the food unit.

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He said Punch will more actively manage under-utilised floor space over the next five years. The estate covers more than nine million square feet of ground floor space and an upper floor area of around 1,400 acres.

Mr Garrood said: “Our strategy enables us to maximise the value in our properties through a phased, lower risk approach to addressing an evolving pub market, taking greater control of the property and retail offer, but without the added overhead that comes with directly employing pub staff.”

A spokesman for Punch said details about the timing and extent of the rollout of the new initiatives are still being discussed.

It comes as the pub group posted a pre-tax loss of £105m in the 52 weeks to August 22, narrowing from £240.2m a year ago, despite paying £166m of charges.